The makers of mobile communication devices, including those of cellular telephones, are increasingly adding functionality to their devices. While there is a trend toward the inclusion of more features and improvements for current features, there is also a trend toward smaller mobile communication devices. As mobile communication device technology has continued to improve, the devices have become increasingly smaller. Fewer and/or smaller hardware and software components are therefore desirable when adding new features and making improvements to the current features in the smaller devices. Fewer hardware components may provide a cost benefit to the consumer.
Mobile communication device manufacturers continue to improve device form factors. Reasons to improve a form factor may include that the makers of mobile communication devices are increasingly adding functionality to their devices. Improvements to form factors may be created to add and/or improve features while maintaining or decreasing the size of a device. Ergonomics oftentimes play an important role in form factor development. For example, mobile communication devices form factors such as the candy bar form factor, the clam shell form factor, and the slider phone form factor are well known for their ease of use and stability.
In a slider form factor, two housings are nested in a closed position. The transceiver housing is the lower housing and the display housing is the upper housing. In opening, the transceiver housing linearly travels to reveal its keypad module. Different mechanisms are used to assist the relative motion of the two independent housings. Additionally, the electronics of the housings are connected by a flexible printed circuit configuration. In most slider devices, the flexible printed circuit has a rolling motion when the device is opened or closed which restricts the allowable construction of the circuit to a single electrically conductive layer. To achieve a desirably thin slider form factor while designing for robustness of the electronics and sturdiness of the linear motion of the slider is difficult.